One Million Moms Archives - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources

A conservative Christian initiative that mounted unsuccessful campaigns against Archie Comics, DC Comics and Marvel has turned its attention to the new television series from The Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder.

Labeling Adult Swim’s Black Jesus as “blasphemy,” One Million Moms insists the live-action show’s depiction of Jesus living in modern-day Compton, California, “makes a mockery of our Lord.”

“The foul language used in the trailer, including using the Lord’s name in vain, is disgusting,” the group writes in its call to action. “In addition, there is violence, gunfire and other inappropriate gestures which completely misrepresent Jesus. This is blasphemy!”

Hoping to stop the series from premiering tonight at 11 ET/PT — or, in its own words, to”keep this program from ever seeing the light of day” — One Million Moms calls on its members to email Adult Swim to urge the cable channel to scrap its plans for Black Jesus. If that doesn’t work, they’ll ask advertisers to boycott the show.

Brian S. Brown, whose five-year-old nonprofit group is dedicated to fighting same-sex marriage, is troubled not just by the Marvel comic depicting the wedding of Northstar and Kyle Jinadu but by the real-life ceremony it inspired at Midtown Comics in New York City. However, Brown, whose job is to help ensure state legislatures don’t pass marriage-equality laws — or if they do, that they’re overturned by ballot measures — isn’t bothered by the wedding of two men, either fictional or real. Heck, he even wishes Midtown couple Scott Everhart and Jason Welker well, offering a not-at-all-condescending “bless him” to the former.

So it’s not that; oh, no. It’s the crass commercialization of the whole thing.

“… Something is wrong when huge companies push gay marriage into children’s literature in order to make money. Something is wrong when a comic book store decides to host a wedding, again for commercial purposes,” Brown writes in a message that ends by thanking NOM supporters for their financial contributions. “And something is really wrong when a man proposes because, well, somebody else is going to help pay for the wedding and it might mean a cool trip to New York City. Somewhere there may be some foolish man and woman getting married in a comic book store. But nobody else is paying for it and nobody in the media is covering it. Are we really supposed to believe in the ‘sanctity’ of gay comic book weddings?”

The new OMM explains that, “Using a ‘Risk’ metric, any time a territory like this is contested, it weakens the prior occupier’s footing and destabilizes their hold on that particular region of Cyberspace. Fundamentalist mothers looking for the original page will be confused, join the wrong thing, or not join at all; it muddies the message and strengthens the position of the new occupiers. This new page might not garner all that many followers initially, but its presence WILL deny the previous owners their beachhead and create a blockade to one of their most persuasive channels.”

Lodged Thursday by Mary Fee, a Scottish Labour Party member representing West Scotland, the motion states: “That the Parliament welcomes the news that the Marvel comic, X-Men, will feature its first same-sex marriage, which will feature Northstar, believed to be the first openly gay comic superhero; understands that, in 1992, Marvel was the first comic publisher to reveal a gay superhero; notes that Northstar is not the first gay character to have had a same-sex marriage in the comic book world, and agrees that same-sex marriage should not be restricted to the world of literature and fantasy.” It’s supported by eight other Members of the Scottish Parliament.

“Children desire to be just like superheroes,” reads the missive on the One Million Moms website. “Children mimic superhero actions and even dress up in costumes to resemble these characters as much as possible. Can you imagine little boys saying, ‘I want a boyfriend or husband like X-Men?’ This is ridiculous! Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models? They don’t but do want to indoctrate [sic] impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light. These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children’s superheroes to desensitize and brainwash them in thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable. As Christians, we know that homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1:26-27).”

The American Family Association, a conservative Christian group whose mission is to “inform, equip, and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture,” has aimed its ire at Archie Comics and Toys “R” Us over retail chain selling comics featuring the same-sex marriage of Kevin Keller.

Through its website OneMillionMoms.com, the nonprofit organization has asked members to send emails to Toys “R” Us “requesting they remove all the same-sex ‘Just Married – Archie’ comic books immediately from their shelves.” According to the group’s website:

Select Toys ‘R’ Us stores are now selling ‘Archie’ comic books with a same-sex wedding displayed on the front cover. The front cover reads “Just Married” with two men marrying and one is wearing a service uniform. This comic book is being sold in select stores across the country. One example is the Queensbury, NY location in the upstate New York area.

Toys ‘R’ Us employees do not actually set up the displays; they leave this up to the vendor, but they should be aware of the merchandise being sold in their stores nonetheless. These comic books are sold at the front checkout counters so they are highly visible to employees, managers, customers and children. Unfortunately, children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in a toy store. This is the last place a parent would expect to be confronted with questions from their children on topics that are too complicated for them to understand. Issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, which is becoming extremely common and unnecessary.

Toys “R” Us joins a long list of companies that the AFA has targeted through its OneMillionMoms.com and OneMillionDads.com sites, including ABC, Disney, The Clorox Company, 7-Eleven, Home Depot and the FOX network. One Million Moms most recently mounted an unsuccessful campaign to convince JC Penney to fire Ellen DeGeneres as the retail chain’s spokeswoman.

Update: When asked for comment, Archie sent us the following statement from their CEO, Jon Goldwater:

“We stand by Life with Archie #16. As I’ve said before, Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone. It’s an idealized version of America that will hopefully become reality someday.

“We’re sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.com feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate and narrow-minded people.”